The present invention provides an arrangement of fastening elements for holding bundles retained by cable ties, and a method therefor. The arrangement of elements includes a pair of strips removably attached to a sequence of fastening elements, whereby the pair of strips facilitate the transport, readying, and positioning of each fastening element prior to interaction with the cable tie. Also provided is a method for molding the arrangement of cable ties in which the cable ties are advantageously used for retaining bundles of cables, pipes, and similarly elongated items.
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1. An arrangement of fastening elements for fastening cable ties, the arrangement of fastening elements comprising:
a pair of parallel strips; and a plurality of fastening elements, each fastening element in the plurality of fastening elements having a body with a head forming an aperture therethrough, the plurality of fastening elements removably attached to and disposed between the pair of parallel strips.
2. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
3. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
4. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
5. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
6. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
7. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
8. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
9. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
10. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
a pair of support flaps, each support flap in the pair of support flaps having one side formed on the outer wall of the sleeve of one respective fastening element in the plurality of fastening elements and an opposite side obliquely projected from the outer wall of the sleeve of one respective fastening element in the plurality of fastening elements; and a pair of detachable flaps, each detachable flap in the pair of detachable flaps removably attached to the opposite side of one respective support flap in the pair of support flaps and removably attached to one respective strip in the pair of parallel strips.
11. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
12. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
13. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
14. The arrangement of fastening elements according to
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This application is a 371 of PCT/EP99/04145 filed on Jun. 16, 1999.
The invention pertains to an arrangement of fastening elements for holding bundles retained by cable ties, as well as a process for arranging fastening elements in a row, in which the cable ties are advantageously used for retaining bundles of cables, pipes and similarly elongated items. The locking components for the cable ties can be joined in one piece with their leader or designed as separate pieces which--as in the case of the binding device according to EPS 0 565 968--are connected to the ends drawn from a roll of continuous cable tie.
Following the assembly of the cables and the insertion and cinching of the cable tie in the locking component, a separate plastic fastening element should be used for retaining the bundle, as disclosed in DE 94 01 448 U1. For the positive threading of the cable tie, this fastening element has a holding loop with its fastening plate anchored on an appropriately formed support part. Here it has been shown to be advantageous when the threading of the cable tie into the holding loop and the positioning of the tie in the holding loop are manually accomplished by means of a pin. This operation, however, is not only time-consuming (and therefore costly), but also requires dexterity.
The use of binding devices for processing continuous sequences of cable ties via automatic feed prior to interaction with locking components results in difficulties threading the cable tie through the holding loop of the fastening element, both before and after the assembly of the bundle of cables. Also, costly vibrator conveyors with appropriate guide channels are needed for the exact positioning element and the guiding in front of the tie exit opening of the binding device.
Accordingly, it is the objective of the invention to economically design and coordinate the fastening elements so that a supply of the fastening elements can be transported and positioned correctly for efficient processing in the binding device.
The present invention overcomes the issues of the prior and current art, and meets the aforementioned objectives with the design of the fastening elements and their pull-off union with strips. The pair of strips serves as the transport strips in the automatic operation. It is then possible for the fastening elements to be supplied to the binding device as a group in a position favoring further processing and, following their separation from the strips, to be favorably positioned for threading the cable tie.
In order to create better preconditions for the automatic processing of the fastening elements in the binding device, additional means such as a rack profile on one surface of each strip enhance the transport of the strips or make it possible for several groups of fastening elements arranged in rows to be combined in a chain of any desired length when injected in the casting mold and then subsequently rolled up, so that a great supply of fastening elements is available.
The foregoing examples represent several of the embodiments of the present invention; however, one skilled in the art will recognize that the examples in no way limit the invention disclosed herein.
Described in DE 41 05 460 C2 is a process for arranging cable binders in a so-called tie cluster for use in a binding device, in which the individual ties are end-bonded by injection. Here the bundling ties aligned one after the other in the longitudinal direction are connected by fusing their ends together in the molding tool, to then be separated again from each succeeding tie after being used in the binding device.
On the other hand, the ties fused together at their ends serve merely as transport adjuncts in the feed and automatic positioning of fastening elements arranged in a row and are not utilized in the binding of the cable bundles.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a preferred embodiment of an arrangement of fastening elements for holding bundles retained by cable ties, as well as a process for arranging fastening elements in a row, in which the cable ties are advantageously used for retaining bundles of cables, pipes, and similar elongated items.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like numbers are used to denote like items throughout,
On both sides of the collar 24 are molded a pair of strips 26, the strips 26 formed during the injection molding, while the molding material is directed into the collar 24 via a pair of links 28. Additional links 30 are provided between the pair of strips 26 and the heads 18 of the fastening elements 10 in order to ensure a rapid filling of the mold in the area of the head 18.
The pair of strips 26 running past the collar 24 on both sides provide the great advantage that, once the two halves of the casting mold have been removed, the pair of strips 26 remain connected to the collar 24 by the pair of links 28 in such a way that the pair of strips 26 can be used as transport strips in the ensuing readying of the fastening elements 10.
To this end, each strip 26 of the pair of strips 26 is provided with a rack profile 32 on one side, which can be driven by a comparably designed cogwheel 34 shown together with a binding device 42 in
Once the mold has been opened, the finished injection-molded fastening elements 10, together with their pair of strips 26, are lifted out of the casting mold. Then the pair of strips 26 with their recessed ends are positioned in a comparably formed casting mold so that, when the next fastening element 10 group is injection molded, the molding material for the pair of strips 26 penetrates into the recess 40 in the ends of the preceding pair of strips 26 remaining in the mold and fills them in such a way that both ends of both pairs of strips 26 remain immovably conjoined. In this manner, it is possible to injection mold as many connected groups of fastening elements 10 as desired, and to wind them into a roll for subsequent readying in the binding device 42, shown in FIG. 5.
As illustrated in
Turning now to
For threading the cable ties 22 into the aperture 20 of the head 18, the fastening element 10 must be advanced by an displacement device (not shown), to a position in front of the exit opening of the front 44, and readied with the head 18 in front of the laterally advanced locking component 46. Then the cable tie 22 can be pushed through the locking component 46 and the head 18, through the guide groove 56 of the two guide hasps 52 and 54, and again into the locking component 46, where it is then engaged in a known manner (cf. FIGS. 9 and 10).
Depicted in
On the outer walls 66 offset thereto by 90°C, laterally obliquely projecting support flaps 70 are formed, which provide a cushioned resting of the fastening elements 60 on the support part (not shown). The free edges of these support flaps 70 are connected by a pair of detachable flaps 76 to the pair of strips 26, which are provided with a rack profile 32 in the same manner as depicted in
The description of the foregoing embodiments should be understood as encompassing only examples, and not restricted to the readying of fastening elements with heads for threading cable ties for holding cable bundles. Rather, the invention is applicable for all fastening elements that are to be readied for any automatically controlled mounting operations using strips as transport adjuncts for proper positioning.
Busch, Martin, Lesser, Hans-Jurgen, Jackle, Hartmut
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Sep 02 2000 | BUSCH, MARTIN | A RAYMOND & CIE | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 011444 | /0091 | |
Sep 07 2000 | JACKLE, HARTMUT | A RAYMOND & CIE | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 011444 | /0091 | |
Sep 08 2000 | LESSER, HANS-JURGEN | A RAYMOND & CIE | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 011444 | /0091 | |
Dec 18 2000 | A. Raymond & Cie | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / |
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